Divine Evil
by MaskedxMayhem
Summary: This story is not one for the weak of heart, and it is no fairy tale, there are no heros saving damsels in distress and no magic fairy dust, this is real and it's not pretty. If your looking for romance and happy endings, then keep looking because when it comes to war, there are no such things. Chapter three is now up and four is in the making!
1. Prologue

Alright, I still need the following character's resubmissions:

Adrien Weston, created by; Raimaru

Mathew Ryder, created by; Kairi Avalon

Please resubmit these characters soon so I know if they will be remaining in the story of not.

Also I will take ocs for any group for future reference, along with a few more xmen, otherwise I don't need anymore.

**Cast List:**

**Medusa:**

Pandora (Alpha), created by TheWritingGirl23 (Leader)

Blade Semi (Bravo), created by; San child of the wolves

Azriel (Charlie), created by; San child of the wolves

Devon Sulivan (Delta), created by EsaEnai

Enzo DeLuca (Echo), created by; Myself

Beau (Foxtrot), created by; EsaEnai

Evelyn (Gamma) created by; myself

**Alphas:**

Dante Mizah (leader), created by; darkmaster429

Danny Comeau, created by; TheMomeRathsOutgrabe

Matthew Ryder, created by; Kairi Avalon

Anne Murrow, created by; TheWrittingGirl23

(Full!)

**Sewer Rats:**

Alex Harrison (leader), created by; TheMomeRathsOutgrabe

Grace Evans, created by; StarGazer

Raiden Lucas, created by; Rex123

Callie Lyna Rame, created by; Death For One

Violet Hale, created by; Huntress

Amy Emers, created by; Rook3pwn

Adrien Weston, created by; Raimaru

(Full!)

**X Men:**

Tarquinn, created by;Myself

Stella Holmes, created by; FresianFire

**Bounty Hunter:**

Mason Berret, created by: Munamana

**Lone Wolf:**

Zachary, created by, Rook2pwn

(full!)

**Bandits:**

Billy Connners, created by; Munamana

Mick Harrison, created by; EsaEnai

Axel, created by; myself

Jannie Alcott (leader) created by; darkmaster429

Astrid Oconner, created by; Choco23Symphony

Jacob Indie, created by; darkmaster

Maya Indie, created by; darkmaster

(Full!)

**Captured:**

Nicholas Arthur (bandits), created by; Rook2pwn

Jalen Bartik (Alphas), created by; BeatTheFox

Satanya Rostov (Alphas), created by;FresianFire

Henri Valon (Bandits), created by; Munamana

(May take one or two more, but they have to be very well developed, detailed characters that add to the plot line!)

**Prologue**

The silhouetted figure in the doorway rushed into the windowless room. He closed the door and quickly made his way in the dark across the black vinyl floor to the brass table lamp on his left. He switched on the light, the low-wattage bulb creating shadows throughout the confined, paneled study. The room was small and confining but not without ornamentation. The objects d'art, however, were neither from antiquity nor from the progressive stages of historical artistry. Instead they represented the most contemporary equimment of high technology.

The right wall glistened with the reflection of stainless steel, and the quiet whir of a dust-inhibiting, dust-removing air-conditioning unit ensured pristine cleanliness. The owner and sole occupant of this room crossed to a chair in front of a computer-driven word processor and sat down. He turned on a switch; the screen came alive and he typed in a code. Instantly , the bright green letters responded.

**Ultra Maximum Secure**

**No Existing Intercepts**

**Proceed**

The figure hunched over the keyboard, his anxiety at fever pitch, and proceeded to enter his data.

_**I start this brief letter now, for the events that follow I believe will alter the course of a nation. A woman has come from seemingly nowhere, like an artless messiah. She came to me the other night with a note, which I dare not open until she left. How she was able to get into my office, at the time both baffled and frightened me. The mutant gene is what she called it. At first, I thought her as insane, perhaps an asylum escapee, but with the way she moved so effortlessly past the security...**_

_**I do not know what she looks like, for she looks like no one and everyone. At will, she can take the shape of anyone she pleases. She is everyone and no one. She showed me what she could do that night, after I refused to believe what she was saying. She looked into the eyes of my secretary, and... and she devoured her soul. Like a devil out of hell she devoured her soul! Then, the most astonishing thing happened, the woman's current identity melted away and her skin took on the skin of my now deceased secretary.**_

_**I couldn't believe it, I didn't want to believe it! But it happened right before my eyes! **_

_**She.. it had threatened me! Telling me that if I tried to help pass any of the new laws against mutants, she would steal my soul! Then she left, dropping a note on the desk, telling me to read it very carefully and to make my choice. **_

_**I have made my choice.**_

_**These things... these monsters are very real and very dangerous! And they cannot be allowed to freely roam the streets! We must take action before they... who knows what they would do, what they cou...**_

"Tsk, tsk, tsk"

The man's typing stopped abruptly and his head snapped to the left, where he spotted the ghost of his dead secretary.

"Looks like you've made the wrong choice" The woman said, pouting her ruby red lips and shaking her head.

"You know what that means" Her pout slowly grew into a sideways smile, her eyes narrowed behind dark sunglasses.

"What ever you do to me will only prove..." The man started to retort but his words were caught in his throat when he looked up, and his eyes fell upon hers. Unearthly purple eyes bore into the man's widened grey eyes, and the world seemed to stand still in this moment. Soon the man's eyes went blank, his heart ceased to beat and his head lolled back, limp.

When the deed was done the woman, now in the disguise of the vise-president's adviser stooped over the keyboard. The soft sickly green light illuminated his face as he finished the advisers last sentence.

_**...**_

_**You will be punished for ignoring my warning**_

_**Pandora signing off.**_

Pandora locked the door behind her as she left the room, still wearing the skin of the adviser.

_No it's only a matter of time..._

She thought as she went through the tireless security procedures before leaving the building.

The actions Pandora had taken that night had set in action a war. It started with acklowledgement of the mutant race, then identification which led to capturing and even killing, then ultimatly, war. It has been ten years, ten years since this faceless messiah had taken the soul and identity of the Vice President's assistant. Pandora warned the governemt of what would happen if they should take action againt mutants, they made their choice and ultimatly made Pandora's. She has been waiting in the shadows, watching the government, observing their every move and now that their strength has weakened because of the war, it's time now for her to take action.

Should you choose to read on, you shall expirience this war through the lives of many, you will witness the death of many and the triumth of few as they fight for survival, for equality and freedom. This story is not one for the weak of heart, and it is no fairy tale, there are no heros saving damsels in distress and no magic fairy dust, this is real and it's not pretty. If your looking for romance and happy endings, then keep looking because when it comes to war, there are no such things.

So, go on, toss this story aside and keep on walking, but within these tattered binds holds the truth behind it all. If you choose to keep reading, be warned, once you know of the truth you will become a target for those seeking to keep it hidden, so read well and read fast for they shall surely come looking for you.

You have been warned.


	2. Chapter 1

Welcome my brother or sister,

I see you have chosen to turn the page, and in doing so, you are committing yourself to a cause you yet not know of. All will be clear soon enough, the truth will be revealed and a side will be chosen. Take this time to disregard everything you have been told about the war, clear your mind and delve into this story with a clean slate.

What you are about to read is the truth, written by those who have survived the war, all accounts may not be down to the last detail because many of these people did not survive to tell their own story. To honor their deaths, too keep their memory alive, we took it upon ourselves to tell their stories, and to bring about the truth of the war. Despite what they have told you, this is the real truth, from the lives of those who lived in our history.

Throughout this story you shall learn the truth of our history and why we fight and what we fight for.

It is July 8th, and twenty years after the war. I am code name Artemis, and we are, the Devine Evil, we are the resistance.

I bid you good luck, and hope to see you on the other side.

xXxX There's no time for us, there's no place for us XxXx

White light of the moon pierced the thick veil of trees, winding around their awkward, bent bodies and casting faint shadows on the forest floor. The distant hoot of an owl made up the bass line for the lonely song of the forest. A dark figure in the distance leaned up against a tree, hands shoved in his pockets and hood draped securely over his head.

"Your late" A deep voice boomed from under the hood. However menacing the voice sounded, accusing it was not.

"The trek here is not an easy one, you know this as well as I" A second figure came into view, his gaunt features shadowed by a dark colored and much abused coat. He pulled the coat closer to him to shield himself from the harsh winds.

"Yes, yes. That isn't important at the moment, what is important is that you're here and very much alive" The figure against the tree replied, pulling off his hood and reveling a sight many would cringe at. The entire left side of the man's face was disoriented from where the vicious tongue of an electric fire lapped at his skin. His deep brown eyes were sunken into the sockets and surrounded by dark purple rings, signifying loss of sleep

He walked toward the smaller, younger figure and placed a hand which was covered with miscellaneous scars on his shoulder.

"Come, we need to move quickly" The larger man said, urging the younger man to move.

"What if this doesn't work?" The younger man whispered, white puffs of breath escaping his lips as he spoke.

"It will work; you need to have faith in yourself. Now move, if we're spotted, it's all over" The younger man took a step back away from the older man and brushed his reassuring hand aside.

"I'm not sure I can do this. And what if I can't, what do we do then?"

"Die" The simple word was hissed with an icy tone. A look of shock and surprise lite up on the younger man's concealed face, then melted away just as quickly.

"Die?" The word was repeated with just as icy a tone.

"Yes, die. Understand this, he has found out about our plan, and he and his men no doubt, are searching for us at this very moment. I didn't want to tell you this; it could have jeopardized the plan"

"How would that have jeopardized the plan? You could have given me a heads up! For fucks sake I could have gotten killed trying to get here!" The younger man was enraged by now.

"Keep your voice down! Do you really want to die?" The older man said in a stern voice.

"Let's just go. This has to be done and it has to be done now" The younger man pushed past his elder.

"Agreed. It's only a matter of time before they're here, and when they get here they'll show no mercy… he'll show no mercy"

"Are you saying that not only are they looking for us, they know the exact place we are! How did they, how did _he_ figure out our rendezvous?"

"I'm not sure, but that isn't important! You have to go now! You haven't much time left!"

"Not important? If I'm not mistaken you've implied that only I will make it out alive. You're speaking of your own death and that's not important?" the younger man protested.

"I can't just leave you here to be killed! We'll go together!" He demanded.

"Fine, fine! We'll go together, now move!" The older man yelled over the loud roar of the wind, and the two were off, running deeper into the woods.

It was only a matter of minutes before the two came face to face with an iron gate which was blocking what looked to be the opening of a cave. The younger man unlocked the gate and rushed inside but, the older man stopped in his tracks. He surveyed his surroundings for a brief moment before shutting the gate in front of him. At the sound of the gate shutting and the lock clicking into place, the younger man snapped around.

"No" The younger man whispered, shaking his head and walking toward the gate.

"No no no! You can't do this!" He hissed as he ran toward the gate.

"It has to happen this way" The older man said, his eyes tired and sad, he was ready for his end.

"No no! It doesn't have to! Let me take you with me, let me try!"

"My death is inevitable, and if you try to take us both, yours will be too" The older man replied in a harsh tone.

"Don't say that! We can do this together! No one has to die!" The younger man pleaded, gripping the bars of the gate.

"Listen!" The distant sound of footsteps, accompanied by a gruff and very angry voice could be heard.

"You need to go! I'll create a diversion!"

"You can't do this! I won't let you!" The younger man yelled, his voice straining under his anger and confusion. He tried to yank the door open but it wouldn't budge, it was locked from the outside in.

"You've killed yourself! You've done this to yourself!" The younger man's voice was swelling with raw emotion.

"Look at me!" The older man roared under his breath. It seemed at this moment everything stopped.

"And listen to what I have to say! The future depends on you; you must go back and prevent this from ever happening! Only you can!" There was a brief pause before he spoke again.

"I must die so that you may live, it can't happen any other way. Now go back, go back in time and stop this from ever happening, stop him from destroying the world!"

"I'll kill him! If not for the fate of the world, then to avenge you! He will die!"

"Do not kill him unless you have to. He does not need to die, he..." The older man paused, looking off in the distance for a moment before the younger man's voice pulled his attention back on gate.

"And yet you do?" The younger man hissed, his deep brown eyes burning with anger.

"He was once a good man. He can be made into the savior this world needs. It is up to you to decide his fate! You must become his teacher and he, your pupil" He paused "His fate and the world's alike rest on your hands"

"Goodbye Tarquinn, and please for the sake of all of us, be careful" The older man said in a whispered tone before stepping away from the gate and taking off toward the anger ridden voice and, toward his death.

xXxX Slow I suffocate, I'm cold and broken, alone XxXx

Four abrupt explosions penetrated the mingled sounds of the ocean and the wind along with the groan of the vessel. A dark silhouette lunged out of the door and grasped the railing with his right hand, and his side with his other. A few seconds later and a second silhouette appeared from the door, cautiously pursuing the first, his intent a deadly one.

The man in the door way raised his left arm, gun gripped firmly in his hand. He fired, once, twice, three times. The loud crack of the gun pierced the other figure's ears. His body jerked back with the impact of the bullets. The vessel's bow suddenly dipped into the oncoming waves, lifting the bullet riddled body and violently tossing it into the dark waters bellow.

The cold of the water caused a shock to run through his body as he plunged downward. The water swallowed him in a single gulp. He was propelled to the surface, but only for a second and he was once again plummeting downward. Panic started in the pit of his stomach, then it began to swell and spread throughout his body with a rapid pace.

_Climb! Climb upwards!_

He clawed furiously at the heavy, seemingly unmovable walls of water, kicking his feet as he did. He broke surface once again, thrashing about to stay above the water, only to be sucked back under. A new type of panic took over him and he found himself feet, no yards away from the surface. Again he plunged upward, struggling to break surface once more but he was losing air fast. His world began to turn dark.

_Let it take you. It will bring you to peace, to your nirvana._

His body fell limp and he reached for that light, yearned for that peace and he had almost found it.

His chest heaved upward as if rising from the ocean once more for air, and his eyes shot open all in one liquid motion.

He groaned and, attempted to lift himself into a sitting position, but his body refused and he was forced back to the bed with a barely audible thump. Taking in a sharp breath of air he tried again, this time putting all the effort he had into sitting up. At last he had accomplished the simple but so seemingly difficult task.

When he was in a seated position he noticed he was sweating heavily, breaths coming in short gasps, mind spinning wildly, still trying to get over the nightmare. It felt so real though, everything from the water to the gun shots.

He looked to his right and found an ivy attached to his arm, he inspected it for a short moment before tearing it from his arm then, turning his body sideways he planted his feet on the ground. After taking a quick survey of the room, glancing at the beeping monitors sitting both to the right and, the left of the bed, then the walls white washed walls, he forced himself to stand up. On uneasy legs he took a few steps forward then stopped when a sharp pain ripped through his side causing him to crumble forward. He kept himself from falling by gripping onto one of the monitors for support.

As soon as his hand reached the monitor his body went rigid then, arched backward as the electricity from the monitor shot into his body, traveling in his veins and sending a familiar, odd sensation throughout his body.

Soon his body stopped convulsing and, the monitor went dead.

"What the hell? It's like I just absorbed the electricity...I..I should be dead" The boy whispered to himself, before noticing that he was now standing up right with little to no effort. He checked over himself, and his mobility seemed fine, nearly perfect. He studied his hands, turning them this way and that, nothing about him seemed odd. well besides his bandaged torso and the lack of clothes, away from the thin sweat pants.

A wave of panic washed over him as he fully absorbed the situation. The image of the monitor going dead was still very fresh in his mind. He kept going over the last few minutes, but no matter what theory he put to it, it simply did not make sense, yet somehow, something which was all too impossible happened with the monitor; it seemed to have healed him after he absorbed it's energy.

After a moment of stillness a new realization came to him.

"Where am I?" He spoke aloud as he pushed himself off the monitor and headed for the door.

_I'm in some kind of infirmary I know that much... but certainly this can't be a hospital, it's entirely too quite...too small..._

He took slow steps toward the door and hesitantly reached for the knob but not before glancing at the small glass window sitting a few inches above the knob. Upon seeing his reflection he stopped moving, and only stared blankly back at the face before him.

_Surely this cannot be my reflection, I recognize the face staring back at me right down to the scar and discolored eye, but I do not know it._

That's when the question came to him; "Who are you?" He asked the reflection, bringing his hand to the glass and lightly brushing it up against the reflection, slowly tracing the scar that fell over the reflections eye in a jagged line. His finger stopped at the middle of his cheek, where the scar had stopped and it slipped from the glass, landing limply by his side.

"Who am I?" He asked himself, but no answer came to him. He backed away from the door and squeezed his eyes shut. Who am I? The question seemed to repeat itself inside his head, leaving its never ending echo ringing in his ears.

Inching the door open he peered out into the hallway, and when he was sure no one was there he slipped out the door. As he walked down the hallway he kept as close to the wall as possible, should someone open one of the many doors and find him sneaking about.

He didn't know why but all of this seemed so natural to him, like he had done it before, although he had no recollection of ever doing it.

_Who am I?_

Slowly he made his way down the short hallway, then paused when he reached its end. Looking to the left then the right, he decided the coast was clear and he turned the corner.

_What is this place...some sort of school perhaps?_

_Where am I?_

"He can't stay here, we don't know anything about the guy. For all we know he could be a mutant hater, give our position away and get us all imprisoned." A deep male voice with a southern accent echoed down the hallway and put a pause to the boy's walking.

"You don't know that! He needs help, and that's just what we're going to give him. Once he's stable he can leave if he wishes, but for now he's our responsibility." Another voice replied to the first. This one sounded more feminine and held a tinge of anger.

The voices stopped when the boy lost his balance and nearly fell over, but caught him before he hit the ground.

_That's strange I was perfectly fine just a minute ago and now it feels like a heavy weight is pressing me down, along with an ever growing pain in my side, and chest..especially my chest..._

"Did you hear that?" The feminine voice from before asked, followed by the sound of footsteps. The boy winced as the pain got worse and he looked down at his chest. His eyes widened when they fell upon the crimson colored blood seeping through the white bandages around his waist. He gasped in pain and clutched his wound as he pushed himself up against the wall.

_It's as if the energy I absorbed was only temporary..._

The boy drug himself across the wall, trying to get as far away from the voices as possible. A dark red line trailed behind him on the wall, glistening under the florescent lights. As the boy moved the trail behind him grew in length and width alike.

"Hey hey hey! What are you doing out of bed!" The feminine voice rang from behind him. His heart sped up as the footsteps closed in on him and a fear like no other took hold of him and wrapped it's grimy arms around him, sucking him into a deep abyss.

Images flashed before his eyes, but they were gone as quick as they came. He saw hands made into fists, heard yelling along with the screams and pleads of a young child. Each scene was nearly the same and they all ended in red.

The boy yelled, trying to stop the heart breaking images from coming, to stop the fear and the pain alike. He slipped from the wall but was caught before he hit the ground.

A young man of 6' with dark brown hair held the other boy up. His large light blue eyes flickered from the boy to the woman standing just a few inches away. The boy in his arms groaned and tried to pry himself from his captor's arms but he was far too weak.

"Who am I?" The injured boy muttered the one thought plaguing his mind, in a barely audible whisper. His eyes slowly rolled to back of his head when the pain became too much and he fell limp.

"He's out" The man who had caught the boy said to the woman standing by him. His features were contorted in a mix of fear and worry. He didn't know the boy, in fact he didn't even want him here, but he didn't want his death on his conscience or on anyone else's for that matter.

The group was small, and the people in it haven't known each other for too long, they were all thrust together when the war came close to an end. The after math the war left is almost worst then the war itself. If the group hadn't of found each other, a groups of mutant haters would have gone after them one by one, ripping them to shreds.

"We need to get him back to the infirmary. He's opened his stitches and he'll bleed out if we don't stich em' back up." blue eyes flashed toward the girl as he nodded in understanding. The man fixed the slightly smaller boy in a better position where he was now draped over one of his shoulders. The woman took her spot under his other arm and they half carried half dragged the unconscious, bullet riddled body towards the infirmary.

He watched silently as the woman re-stitched the unknown boy's wounds, her fingers working with rapid and precise movements. Janine was anything but a doctor but she had picked a few things up from Katarina who was an aspiring nurse but since her disappearance, Janine and the others had to fill in.

"Janine" Large, deep brown eyes broke the concentration they had on the needle and slowly found their way toward the source of the voice. The man leaned up against the wall opposite of girl; his eyes focused on the floor, strands of dark hair fell from where they were tucked behind his ear.

"What if...he's human, what if he's a mutant hater. He could put our entire group in danger" He said in a slow, and low whispered voice, then glanced up at the girl, taking in her jet black hair which was very short and choppy but shaped her face beautifully.

"Well, we'll just have to figure that out when he wakes up next. For now, for now he's just an injured boy that need help" She replied, glancing down at the sleeping boy on the cot, taking in his ruffled dirty blonde hair, sharp features and the way his mouth was twisted in pain.

"So you're willing to take that risk, just because he's injured? You have no idea who this guy is! What he could do!" He yelled, fuming.

"Bill…" Janin started to say, but he cut her off.

"If he so much as moves in the wrong direction, I won't hesitate to slit his throat" He said, his tone icy and cruel. Then he turned around and left, leaving behind the echo of his boots as they made contact with the tile floor.

Janine watched as the man, Bill, left, shaking her head and sighing. Since he joined the group, Bill has always been over protective, especially of the younger ones. Janine understood that and she understood the risk she was taking by saving this young man's life, but she also understood the burden she would carry if she let him die, and she wasn't about to do that.

"I wonder who you are; someone must have really wanted you dead seeing as they shot you four times…" Janine trailed off.

xXxX Liar Liar! pants on fire! Liar lair! keep your soul from catching fire! Fire! XxXx

A tall man in dark drab leaned over a countertop, repeatedly stabbing it's corner with a small dagger. The man dug the dagger deeper into the counter and twisted it into the wood causing it to splinter.

"No!" The man shouted, pulling the blade out of the wood then slamming it back down again, narrowly missing his hand.

"Forget to take your meds again eh Blake?" A petite woman with a wiry build said from her perch atop the staircase to the man's right.

"Ah?" The man questioned, turning to face the woman.

"Shut up!" He yelled suddenly, pulling the blade from the wood.

_Gonna let em walk all ova ya like this eh king?_

"I told you to stop calling me that!" The man yelled, turning around.

"You know she doesn't like it when you're off your meds Blake, might as well take them" The woman on the staircase said, yawning .

"Blake?" The man asked.

_It's your name dumb ass!_

_It's a stupid name…_

_Your name's not Blake._

"Blake! Blake! Blake! Blade!" The man yelled. The woman on the staircase sighed then hoped from her seat, landing silently on the ground.

"Here" She said, picking up a small orange bottle with a white cap.

"These'll help" She handed the medication to the tall man.

_Don't do it! She's poisoned them! _

_It's a trap! _

"Blake?"

"No!" The man yelled, knocking the bottle out of her hand.

_Hurt her!_

_Make her pay!_

_Kill her!_

"Stop being so stubborn and take the damn pills"

_She's trying to kill you! _

_Kill her before she kills you!_

The man backed away from the woman who was picking up the bottle from the ground.

"Shut up!" He yelled, shaking his head, and turning the blade over and over in his hand.

"Blake, please just take the pills, it'll make the voices stop" The woman tried calming Blake down. Blake turned his head to the side and laughed before turning back toward the woman who was significantly shorter than he. His eyes wandered over her form for a moment but he did not see the woman with nearly white hair, smooth alabaster skin and a petite stature. In his eyes, standing before him was a very tall man with fiery red hair and a goatee wearing a white tux with a black rose in place of where a red one should have been.

"Ace?" Blake questioned, back stepping until the back of his foot made contact with the bottom of the counter.

"Snap out of it Blake!" The woman yelled, but this is not what Blake heard.

"Still letten 'em walk all over ya eh?" The tall red haired man spoke, taking a step toward Blake who in turn stiffened.

"No! Don't come any closer!" Blake yelled, holding the knife out in front of him.

"Woah! Woah, calm down, it's just me, Beau" The woman said, taking a step back.

"Poor pathetic little mutant" Ace tisked, walking toward Blake.

The man yelled and threw the dagger toward Beau like a dart. Fortunately Beau was quick to dodge and the knife lodged itself into the cabinet behind her instead of her throat. Beau cursed under her breath, then without a second thought, countered. She extended her right arm, and the black ink which coiled around it lifted off her skin and shot out toward Blake.

Blake was thrown backward against the counter. Yelling and cursing, he struggled with his restraints which now pinned him to the counter by his neck.

"Shhh" Beau put a finger to her lips and walked toward the thrashing Blake with the medication in hand. Blake struggled even more when Beau came closer and just about fought his way out of his restraints when a hand was clamped over his mouth. Beau's lips curled into a sideways smile as she shoved one too many pills into Blake's mouth.

"Now sleep" She said, pinching Blake's nose and pressing her lips against his, closing off his airways and forcing him to swallow the pills in order for him to try and breathe. Blake managed to toss Beau off himself and send her crashing into the cabinets behind her, but the medication was already taking affect and his vision began to blur. All became silent within Blake's mind, the red haired hallucination disappeared and his body fell limply to the floor.

"Thank… you" He whispered before his eye lids closed.

"Yeah yeah, next time ya try and kill me I won't be too nice" Beau replied, kneeling by the now sleeping Blake.

"Hmmm… he's a lot cuter when asleep" She said to herself before the sound of the door opening caught her attention and her head snapped up. A tall shapely woman with long raven hair walked into the room, a short shadowed figure tailing behind her.

"Got yourself a new play thing Pandora?" The shorter woman asked, rounding the counter and confronting Pandora in the living room.

"Foxtrot, I'd like you to meet the newest addition to Medusa, Gamma" Pandora said, her lips curling into a malicious smile. She placed a delicate hand on the small figure's shoulder and pushed her forward gently. Standing before Beau was a small child with curly golden locks and large green eyes. The child was adorned in a black gothic Lolita dress with light blue trim, black dress shoes and tall white socks, accompanied by a small hat which rest on top of those soft golden locks. She was the spitting image of a doll.

"Gamma hmm?" Beau, also known as codename Foxtrot mused, looking over the child who in turn looked up at her, a smile wry smile upon her face.

"She's cute, but what do you intend on doing with a child?" Beau questioned, tilting her head at the child who mimicked her and tilted her head in the other direction.

"She's pretty Pandora, can I have her?" The child spoke in a soft voice with a light British accent, her large, curious eyes never leaving the woman before her.

"What?" Beau asked, taken aback by the child's words.

"Evelyn, why don't you go find a room, you can choose any you like" Pandora cooed, gesturing around the run down hotel.

"But I want to play with my new toy" Evelyn protested, her smile growing wider.

"Evelyn, beau is part of your family now, she is not a toy, neither is any member of Medusa. Soon, though child, the world shall be your playground and you will have many, many toys" Pandora replied.

"In my hands I shall hold a doll whose eyes are violet like the flower and head barren of hair, one of these days, in my hands I shall hold you, Pandora, just as I hold Calypso, you shall become my doll" The child, now known as Evelyn said, running her fingers through the golden locks of the doll she held in her hands, which so resembled herself, except this doll had no face. She turned around, and without saying another word, she headed up the stairs to search for a new room.

"Charming" Beau commented once the child was out of hearing range.

"She'll grow on you" Pandora said simply, leaving the room and leaving Beau to ponder over their new recruit. Just what is Pandora planning? And what did that child mean about making Pandora her …doll? Weren't things around her bad enough without some creepy little girl and her faceless doll?

xXxX In just one life how can we, live enough to rest in peace XxXx

The boy narrowly escaped the cops as he ducked into a seemingly empty alleyway. He pressed his back against the wall, breathing deeply to catch his breath and bring his heart beat to a normal pace. Raking his fingers through his thick, unkempt shaggy hair, he cursed under his breath.

"Damn, that was a close one. I've got to be more careful or I may end up... on second thought, I don't want to think about that"

A smile gradually pulled at the corner of his lips as he looked over his newly stolen merchandise. With his bag now filled to the point where it couldn't even zip up, he made his way to the end of the alley way then darted into the street when he was sure no one was looking. He pried open the heavy iron plate then stole away into the sewer down below.

He hit the ground with a splash, landing in a puddle of putrid smelling water. Shaking it off, he made his way straight, where he soon came upon a barred gate. He peered through the bars only to notice the gate was ajar. He pushed the heavy gate to the side, and cautiously made his way through the sewer.

_Something definitely isn't right here... they wouldn't leave the gate un-guarded like this. _

He thought as he raced forward, took a left turn then stopped dead in his tracks. His jaw dropped, and the bag slipped from his hand.

"What the hell happened? Who would ... who would do this?" He questioned, but of course he didn't get an answer... corpses could answer him. A wave of sadness, rage and nausea over came him, his stomach turned and he dry heaved a few times before he was able to take a deep breath. Letting the breath out slowly, and steadily he walked around the corpses strewn about the sewer. Blood and internal organs painted the walls in a disgusting, stomach retching design.

"Hello? Is anyone here...alive?" He called out, but his voice cracked. His shaken and unsteady legs moved seemingly on their own and he kept moving forward.

Suddenly a fearful cry erupted from the boys right and cause him to jump.

"Where are you?" He called out, frantically searching for a survivor. Turning about himself, he spotted a hunched over figure in a shadowed corner.

"Hey, hey are you ok?" He asked. As he got closer he could make out a tangled mess of what used to be blue hair which fell over dirt stained arms that were hugging the girl's legs. The girl slowly raised her head, staring at the boy with sad, fear filled yellow eyes.

"Raiden?" The girl choked out, then broke out into a sob when her eyes landed on the corpses all around her. The boy gasped silently when he saw who the girl was, and he felt a sharp pain in his heart at the sight of her.

'Violet? What the hell happened? Are you ok?" Raiden's questions came flying at the girl, without a pause.

"I...I don't know. It happened so fast... and I...I couldn't do anything to stop it. Oh god... " She replied, trying to compose herself.

"Who? Who did this?" Raiden's asked, kneeling down to the young girl's level.

"I don't know how they found us, we were so careful..." Violet tapered off, fighting back the growing lump in her throat.

"Who, Violet, who?" Raiden pressed, the rage building in his chest.

_Who would do this? Why would they do this! Whoever they were, they had no right to break into this sanctuary and slaughter all of these innocent people... these sick people, and defenseless children!_

Violet only shook her head, tears rising to her eyes once again. She sucked in a deep breath, pushed the tears back and wiped at her eyes.

"I shouldn't have left... I could have...I could have helped. I could have stopped this!" Raiden hissed under his breath, self loathing clearly evident in his voice.

"This wasn't your fault Raiden, if you were here they would have killed you too" Violet replied.

"They didn't deserve to die Violet. Somebody's going to pay for this." Raiden said standing up.

"Come on, let's get out of here. I know of another underground community that'll take you in" Raiden said, offering Violet his hand, but she shook her head and stood up on her own.

"Raiden, don't blame this on your self. There was nothing you could do"

"No. But there is something I can do now. I will find out who did this, and they will pay" Raiden retorted, walking back toward the bag he dropped.

"Get your stuff, we're leaving" Raiden commanded, his voice full of anger, and his thoughts clouded with revenge.

xXxX I saw the devil wrapping his hands, he's getting ready for the big show down XxXx

"Too slow!" A tall sandy haired male yelled, slamming the smaller boy into the ground.

"I'm trying!" The younger boy yelled back, pushing himself off the ground.

"Trying isn't good enough!" The sandy haired male said, walking tauntingly slow toward the younger boy who was still on the ground.

"You're just going to keep slowing us down you pathetic excuse of a mutant!"

"I... am..not... pathetic!" The younger boy bellowed, his yell quickly becoming a growl.

"That is exactly the type of anger I'm looking for! Now use it to your advantage!" The man yelled, dodging a blow from the shifting wolf boy. The boy just about finished his shift when he was caught by the throat.

"Keep your anger undercontrol Matt, don't let it consume you" The man said, violently tossing the boy to the side who slid into the opposite wall.

"Use your anger, don't let it use you!" The man yelled, dodging another attack from the now fully transformed wolf. The man crouched to the ground and placed his palms on it. As soon as his palms made contact with the ground, the concrete seemed to crawl up his arms and completely engulf them in the hard substance. The man slowly stood up from the ground and snatched the lunging wolf right out of the air, pinning him to the ground by the neck.

"If you let your anger control you, you are only a liability" The man said, increasing the pressure around the wolf's neck causing him to revert back to his human form.

"If you can harness your anger and control the shift instead of the shift happening on it's own, you'll have better control of your powers all together and therefore be a more deadly opponent." The man said, letting go of Matt. Matt stood up, seething and rubbing at his neck.

"To have power is one thing, to be incontrol of it is another. It doesn't matter how powerful you are if you are not in control, you will be easily broken down and killed" The sandy haired man said as Matt walked out of the room, hands wound tight in a fist and jaw clenched.

"Matt" An incredibly tall woman with deep red skin nodded at the wolf boy who grunted angrily in return.

"Hey Dante, How's the trainin' goin'?" The woman asked the sandy haired man.

"He's making progress but he still has a long way to go" He answered, his arms reverting back to normal.

"Ya shouldn't be too hard on 'im" The woman said, looking down at the slightly shorter man.

"You're probably right, but there's no time to go easy on him. He's got to gain control of his anger, the war is only getting worse and I can't have him holding me back" Dante replied.

"Can't have 'im holding ya back?" The tall woman asked, pausing before continuing.

"We are a team, or have ya forgotten? He'll get through this, and we will all help him along the way" She finished.

"That's not the way it works Anne. This team is built on strength and if he doesn't get it soon, he'll only be a liability. You know we can't afford anything holding us back. I brought him into this team knowing he has strength, and I'll just as quickly take him out knowing he can't use it" Dante replied, stepping away from Anne.

"You're stressed, let's go get a drink and get your mind off of this whole thing alright?" Anne suggested, hookin an arm around Dante's arm.

"You see, this, this is why I chose to keep you around" Dante said, an unusual playful tone in his voice. Anne shoved Dante playfully and the two left the training room.

xXX Too much, too late, or just not enough of this, pain in my heart for your dying wish Xxx

Fingers fumbled inside of an old coat pocket, grazing over a small box, and picking at its opening flap. Once the flap was open, a finger wedged between it to keep it from closing, and two others found the object they were searching for. The fingers paused for a moment still within the pocket, holding the object delicately between them, taking in its smooth paper like texture; the familiar texture that brought reassurance and a sense of comfort to the owner of the still stalling fingers.

_I shouldn't do this! I promised him I would quit!_

Screamed the voice inside the owners head, but his body screamed even louder in protest, and the hand slid out of the pocket, slowly, shakily making its way to the lips of the owner. With the thin papery object pinched between his lips, his hand once again plunged into the same coat pocket. Once his fingers brushed up against the cold metal object they wrapped around its body, and brought that up to his lips too.

One hand brought the lighter up to the cigarette, and touched it to its end; the other guided the lighter downward about a fingers length, making sure it was close enough to the cigarette. A small flame kissed the end of the cigarette, and brought it to life.

The hooded figure slouched against the wall, and took a long and deep drag from the cigarette. His body loosened up from act; he seemed to melt right into the wall.

_Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! How could you think this will solve anything? You made a promise…_

The hooded figure slid the sleeve of his right arm up, only a couple of inches above his wrist, and felt for the familiar object which always slumbered there. Slowly he ran his fingers along the tiny rounded beads of the chain, and found his way to the two rectangular objects attached.

"You don't understand how much I miss you Mirko, how much I need you." A soft voice with a touch of an Italian accent whispered to the sky.

"I've done something terrible, something I can't fix. No one can fix it." The figure sighed, and took another drag of his cigarette before speaking again. All the while, his fingers delicately traced the name etched into the small metal rectangles.

"The blood of an innocent woman stains my hands. She was such a sweet woman, she was different than the others Mirko. She loved me like her own, really loved me and she wasn't afraid of me…. She was so good to me, and I …I killed her Mirko!" The figure cried out, balling his hand into a fist, and clenched the dog tags to his chest.

"How many more will fall by my hands before I can gain control? Mirko, I can't let this happen again, I won't let this happen again!" The figure said, standing up, and reaching into his other pocket.

"That's why I've decided to join you Mirko, that way it will be impossible for me to hurt anyone else." The figure said, pulling a flask out of his pocket.

"I know I've made a promise to you all those years ago, but I'm sure you won't mind one last cigarette…one last drink?" The figure asked. Removing the cigarette from his lips, he allowed his right hand to flop to his side, the cigarette resting between two fingers. His other hand tightened itself around the flask, pausing for a moment then, slowly opened its lid.

He lifted the flask to his lips, and arched his neck as he took a deep swallow of the clear liquid. The figures face contorted from the bitter taste of the alcohol but, he savored the way it burned his throat as it made its way to the pit of his stomach. Immediately a wave of warmth washed over the figure, putting an end to his shivering from the cold.

"I will be with you soon brother." The figure whispered, pushing himself from the wall, pocketing the flask, and stamping out the cigarette. With his left arm outstretched, he drug his fingers along the wall as he walked, stepping to the side every so often to avoid running into dumpsters, and various other items you would expect to find in an alley way.

The figure walked with a steady pace, taking a drink from the flask every so often.

He had made his way out of they alley, and down the road, constantly keeping contact with the wall, as it gave him a better idea of where he was.

_You can't do this! What would Mirko think eh? He'd think you were a selfish bastard, wasting your life like this!_

As the figure walked the sound of passing cars pierced his ears, letting him know he was getting close to the road. He stopped for a moment and, took hold of the dog tags around his wrist once more. He unwound the chain from his wrist and held it close to his heart.

"The only thing I regret is never being able to enjoy one last sundown. It was in a book you read to me once. I can't remember its title, but there was this man who was dying and, his wife sat there with him in his bed, facing a window and they watched the sun go down together. When the sky became dark, the man took his last breath." The figure paused, and took a deep breath before continuing.

"Will you watch one last sunset for me brother?"

"For surely we will not...cannot end up in the same place. If there is an after life, they would have happily opened the gates of heaven for you. You were a good brother Mirco and a hero, I on the other hand am I murder and deserve the deepest pits of hell"

The boy walked straight into the busy street of New York, allowing the speeding cars to decide his destiny for him, his last sentence still hanging in the air.

Update:

Keep an eye on the first chapter, I will be updating the cast list there. Once I get all of the ocs I need, I will delete everything else from chapter 1 besides the cast list and prologue. I now have a bounty hunter and Delta, so the only ocs I'm now taking are xmen and extras for future use.


	3. Chapter 2

A long deep breath escaped the lips of a hooded dark skinned man as he sat cross legged on the cave floor. He breathed in, closing his eyes and exhaling once more, trying to put behind him, the fact that his mentor had could be dying in this very moment.

'The future depends on me, I cannot fail' The man thought to himself and he concentrated, focusing on the past and willing himself to become part of that past.

The world drew to a stop as his skin tingled and grew numb, his mind became light and all thinking ceased to exist with the exception of one single thought; the past. The room grew stagnant with silence until the man was thrust into a world of pain as his body seemingly dissolved from the room. In these moments Tarquinn was no longer a part of an existing time line, in fact in moments of going back and forth through time he himself no longer existed. He was pulled into a dark void where time passed around him but did not touch him. As he sunk further and further into this black hole his mind exploded with pain and it was all he could think about.

Never before had he attempted to go back this far, and he could already feel his body taking damage from it. Limply, his body floated through this timeless black space, until he began free falling and fast. Pain took him hold of him, wrapping its grimy hands around his body and pulled him further into the black, the man tried to fight back, but he could feel himself becoming weaker with every passing moment. A panic like none he had ever felt ran down his spine and chilled him to the bone. He was dying, he could feel his life force being drained and that pain kept on pulling at him until that is all there was and Tarquinn's mind went blank.

_A young boy about the age of eight stood in a line, amongst a mass of people who also wore the same rope around their wrists and ankles as he did._

_"Mommy I'm scared" The boy whimpered, turning his head and facing the tall slender and dark skinned woman behind him. Tears welled up in the woman's eyes as she looked helplessly down at her son._

_"Everything will be ok Tarquinn, mommy's here" She said, choking back the tears. All of a sudden the line jolted forward and the boy was pulled to the ground, causing the others in the line to come to a halt._

_"What is this? Why has the line stopped?" A deep voice shouted and not long after a man in concealing black drab appeared before the woman and her child._

_"Get up" The man demanded, through his mask. It was the type of mask you would imagine a terrorist or a robber wearing._

_"I said get up!" The man yelled and the boy stood up after struggling with the rope for a moment, and with the help of his mother._

_"You wanna die kid? Better stop holding up the line or the boss is gonna kill ya for sure!" The man dressed in dark drab said with a dark laugh, glaring down at the boy._

_"Don't you talk to my son like that!" The woman behind the boy shouted, stepping toward the guard, as much as the tightly bound rope would allow her._

_"That's assault against a guard" The man accused._

_"What? I haven't even touched you!" The woman protested, Her voice shaky with fear for both herself and her son but mostly her son. The guard shoved the woman back, nearly causing her to fall, and she would have had it not been for the person behind her who stopped kept her up._

_"Well just see what the boss has to say about this" The guard taunted, then turned around sharply when he heard the unmistakable voice of his "boss"._

_"What is going on here? Why has the line stopped?" An angry voice could be heard over all others._

_"It's these two sir, they were holding up the line" The guard said, standing at attention._

_"And I'm sure you had nothing to do with it" The tall blonde haired man accused._

_"Sir?" The guard asked._

_"Worthless! You're all worthless scum!" The man yelled, lethal electricity cackled around his hands. The man then grabbed the guard by the neck and fried him to a grotesque crispy black, before dropping his body which had already begun to fall away to the ground._

_"You, boy!" The man said, pointing at the young boy._

_"You're not human are you? I can sense it, you're a mutant" He said, eyeing the boy. The young boy looked up at the man, taking in his hardened stare, discolored right eye and the scar that accompanied it. The man untied the rope around the boy's wrists and ankles._

_"Kill the rest of them" He order and a panic washed over the mass of people._

_"Disgusting humans! You all will pay!" The blonde haired man bellowed, and watched as his "guards" gunned down the rest of the people, with the boy under his arm in a firm grasp. The young boy watched; horrified as the people fell one after another, limply to the ground._

_"Wait!" The man called of his men, when there was only one person left in the line, and that was the woman who so resembled the boy by his side._

_"Mommy!" The boy cried out, and tried to run to her but a large hand lashed out and struck the boy in the head, sending him to the ground._

_"Tarquinn!" The woman cried, tears spilling down her cheeks._

_"If you smart kid, you'll stay on the ground" He said in a stern voice then slowly made his way toward the woman who was now shaking._

_"You will all pay for you did...you killed them, and now all of you will die in return!" The man yelled, then reached out and wrapped a hand around the woman's neck._

_"Mommy! no!" The boy on the ground yelled, and tried to get up, but the man holding his mother sent a bolt of electricity at the ground before the boy and he remained in his spot for fear of being struck._

_"Are you watching this child?" The man asked, glancing at the young boy from the corner of his eye._

_"I want you to watch" He said, motioning for a guard to grab the kid. Moments later and the boy was pulled from the ground, a firm hand clasping his own tiny hands behind his back and another digging it's nails into his scalp and forcing the boy to look his mother in the face._

_"This is the way I taught" The blonde said "Anyone you so much as get close to…will only be killed in the end" He quoted a line from his past that he heard all too often, often enough for every word to be burned into the back of his mind._

_"Please.." The woman whimpered under the man's grasp._

_"Don't worry. I'll take good care of him" The man said with a sickening smile before his expression turned dark and he snapped the woman's neck._

_"Mommy!" The boy screamed, struggling against the guard._

The limp body of a man in his mid to late twenties materialized on a dirt clotted and breaking apart sidewalk. Either the man's breathing was so shallow he didn't appear to be breathing at all, or that is just it, he wasn't.

* * *

Blue eyes fluttered open, before they squeezed shut one again. A moment later and they reopened, looking from side to side but not really seeing anything. Everywhere around him was darkness. Then he spotted it, a faint light in the distance. He stood up and cautiously made his way toward the light, shielding his eyes as he did. He paused for a moment when a silhouette appeared in the middle of the circle of light. He strained his eyes to see the silhouette but to no avail, the figure remained a dark, blurry shadow.

"Hello?" The boy called out, slowly closing the distance between him and the shadowed figure.

"Who are you?" The boy asked. He paused for a moment when he was close enough to the figure to see the limbs apart from the body instead of just one massive shadowy blob. As the boy came closer to the figure, the figure came closer to him.

Soon the boy and the figure were no more than a few feet apart.

"Hello?" The boy asked, waving his right hand in an attempt to gain the shadow's attention. As the boy raised his right arm, the shadow raised its right arm, and as the boy waved, the shadow waved.

Confusion made itself clear on the boys features. He took a step to the right, and so did the shadow. It was as if he was staring into a mirror, only he couldn't see his reflection.

"Who are you?" The boy asked once again, and the shadow shrugged its shoulder as if saying I don't know. This time the boy followed the shadow and his shoulders went up and down in perfect unison with the shadow.

Soon everything faded to black and once again the boy was left alone, but not for long.

"Wake up" A soft voice cooed, breaking through the silence like a knife through thick fog.

"Wake up" The voice came again, this time paving a path in the darkness. The boy followed the lite up path and found himself at the foot of a door. He paused a moment before reaching for the handle. Slowly he opened the door, and emerged from the dark.

"Hey" A soft voice greeted the boy as his eyes fluttered open. His eyes widened before they narrowed on the woman before him and he sat up abruptly, startling Jannie.

"You probably shouldn't do that, you could open up your stitches again" She said, moving to place a hand on the boy's shoulder and push him back on the bed but he flinched away from the movement and stood up on the other side of the bed.

"Who the fuck are you and where the hell am I?" He asked in French, backing away from the bed.

"Do you…speak English?" The girl asked, not understanding a word the injured boy had just spoken.

"Yes" He replied quickly "Where am I?" He asked again, this time in English but with a heavy French accent.

"You're safe, but you need to sit down, I don't want to risk you opening your wounds again, we don't have the supplies to keep stitching you up" She replied, gesturing to the boy's chest. His eyes followed the girl's movement and found the bandages at his torso, images from the night before came back to him and he felt over the bandages.

"So then…you helped me?" He asked, his gaze returning to the woman.

"Yeah, we did"

"We?" He echoed.

"Yes, me and my group. I might have stitched you up but if it hadn't of been for the others; the ones who found you, you wouldn't have made it"

"What do you mean your group?" He asked.

"The people I live with, the people that live here, they are…like family" She replied.

"You care a lot about these people, don't you?"

"Excuse me?"

"I could see it in your expression; when you speak of them, when you called them…family"

"Yes, they do mean a lot to me. They're all I have" She paused "Why do you ask?" She narrowed her eyes.

"You took a risk when you decided to help me, why would you jeopardize the safety of your…family just to save a strangers life?" He asked, unable to understand.

"I couldn't just let you die; the world is cruel enough as it is. People are losing their humanity with the way the world is now, letting you die like that; I might as well have pulled the trigger myself. I'm not going to let myself lose my humanity, even if the world loses its own" She explained.

"Thank you" He said, nodding curtly at the woman.

"What happened anyway?" She asked "Why were you shot like that?"

"I…" He stuttered, searching for an answer but he came up blank "I…don't know" He said slowly, then repeated it "I don't know"

"You don't know why you were shot?" Astrid asked, and the boy shook his head in reply.

"I don't know why I was shot" He said, eyes glazed over "I don't…remember" He said in a quiet voice, a look of defeat on his face.

"I believe you" Asrid reassured the boy, and then tried to move on to another subject "So, then who are you?"

"I don't know" He said, shaking his head "I don't remember anything past waking up the other day" He said, eyes still glazed over and attention on the ground.

"Amnesia…" Astrid trailed off, catching the boy's attention "It not unlikely, I mean with the trauma your body went through with being shot and who knows how long you were in that ice cold water.." She replied, the image of Janine running up to the building, her Mech until following shortly behind, dragging behind it, this boy's unconscious and soaked body up to the building flashing across her mind.

"Do you…think I'll get it back…my memory?" He asked all of a sudden.

"It's possible, I'm no expert but I'm sure it'll come back over time" Astrid said, a small reassuring smile on her face which faltered when she remembered the boy's bag she had brought in with her earlier.

"Here, this is yours, why don't you go through it and see if you can't find anything about yourself inside?" She suggested, handing the amnesiac an old brown knapsack.

"I didn't know if you'd be awake, I would have brought some breakfast down if I had known.." She trailed off as the boy took the bag.

"It's fine, I'm not hungry" He replied, carefully opening the knapsack and pulling out its contents.

"Are you sure? I could go down to the kitchen and bring you something?" She offered.

"No, you've done enough already" He replied, pulling out a piece of clothing which was rolled up in a very condensed manner.

"You haven't told me who you are yet" he spoke up, glancing at the woman before taking a seat on the cot and continuing to search in the bag, his hand landing on something cold and metallic. He gasped silently as he felt the object, automatically the word gun popping into his head. He looked down to be sure and there is was, a small pistol accompanied by a silencer.

"Astrid, my name is Astrid" The girl replied with a small smile.

"Astrid" He said to himself, eyes flickering from his bag then to the girl and back to the bag.

He shoved the gun further back into the bag and decided not to pull it out and instead reached for the next item which turned out to be a dagger. He pulled the dagger out of the bag and unsheathed it, causing the girl to stiffen in response.

"I just want to take a look" He reassured her, but she was still on edge. Unsheathing the dagger slowly, he found a name carved into it.

"Axel" He mumbled the name, tracing the letters with his fingers.

"What does it say?" Astrid asked, wary of the weapon.

"There's a name carved into it…Axel" The boy replied, tilting the dagger so she could see.

"Is that your name…I mean, does it sound familiar?" She asked.

"It is very familiar, but I don't know if it's mine" The boy replied, after thinking to himself for a moment.

_Axel…the name is familiar, but there is something very off about it…it doesn't feel right_

He thought to himself, and was about to speak again, but his stomach growled loudly and stopped his train of thought.

"I thought you weren't hungry" Astrid spoke up, laughing lightly "If you want, we can take a break and go down to the kitchen, get some food and maybe introduce you to the other members. They've all been eager to meet you, and you should get acquainted with them, you're not gonna be able to go anywhere for a while in your condition"

"Fine, but…call me Axel" The blonde said, placing the dagger back into the bag and zipping it up.

"So, you think that name carved into that dagger is yours? It would make sense…"

"No, but it's all I have right now" He responded.

"Alright, Axel it is then, until we find out your real name" Astrid said with a curt smile, which Axel returned with a nod of his head.

"Come on, I'll show you to the kitchen" She said, and the two left the room and headed down the hall

"I have to warn you though, Bill is a little on edge about you, he has been since we decided to bring you in. You seem like a good guy, but still I'd be a little cautious around him…he's especially like this around humans and since we don't know if you are human or a mutant…" Astrid trailed off once they were close to the kitchen.

"Mutant?" He echoed curiosity clear in his voice.

"You don't remember what a mutant is, do you?" She asked and upon receiving a shake of his head in response, she continued on to explain what mutants are. All the while Astrid spoke about people with abilities, he kept thinking about what happened with the monitor the day before.

Soon both Axel and Astrid found themselves in front of the kitchen door, which was really a cafeteria door, seeing as they were taking refuge in an old run down school, but that's a minor detail. Axel hesitated before following Astrid into the room, lagging a few steps behind.

The room was large and filled with chatter, on one side there was a line of people serving food out of old pots to the others, and on the other side were the type of tables you would expect in a school. There were people eating, and visiting with one another, others sitting in the corner catching a bit of sleep, and children running about, laughing.

When the two entered the room, everything seemed to stop and everyone turned their attention toward the new comer, some with hate and fear and others with bright smiles, but most with plain curiosity. Almost immediately they were greeted by an angry Bill.

"What the hell is he doing in here?" The twenty three year old demanded, glaring at the slightly shorter boy.

"He's not a prisoner here Bill, were just getting some food" Jannie replied defensively.

"Yeah? And he's not a part of the group either, he's an outsider and he has no business here. I don't want him near the rest of the group" Bill said, eyes never leaving the blonde, who starred at him as well.

"You don't make the rules Bill, he's only staying until he heals. Now, we are getting some food, so back off" Astrid said and the two left a very angry Bill behind.

"This" Astid gestured around the room "is my group, the bandits, I guess you could say, I'm kind of their leader" She said, earning a look of confusion from Axel.

"But you seem so young, these people follow your word regardless?" He asked as they approached the line.

"Well, yes" She paused "In a world like these, age means little, it is your personality, your strength and leadership that gets people to follow you, maybe I'll explain more of what I mean, some other time" She finished. Axel didn't get a chance to reply when they were cut off by a large Hispanic man who held a large spoon in one hand and his other rested on the brim of a pot.

"So he lives" The man spoke with a slight Mexican accent, while filling a small tin bowl of food and handing it to Astrid.

"Manuel, I'd like you to meet Axel" She said, then turned toward Axel "This is Manuel, he is one of our main cooks" She said. Axel only responded with a nod of his head and gratefully took the bowl that was handed to him. The two left the food line with their bowls and found a table where only a few sat. On one side there was a young boy with a mop of messy black hair who kept looking to his side, to the boy's left was an even smaller child with short brown hair who looked away shyly when the two came over. Sitting by herself on the other side of the table, was a young and tiny oriental woman who seemed to be in her own world.

"Everyone, this is Axel" Astrid introduced the amnesiac to the group as the two took their seats.

"Are you human or a mutant?" The boy with black hair asked suddenly, eyes glued to the new comer.

"Jacob, don't be rude. This man has gone through a lot and…"

"It's a legitimate question Astrid; these people have a right to know whether he is human or a mutant" Bill interrupted her, taking a seat directly in front of Axel.

"What does it matter if I am human or a mutant? I'm leaving as soon as I'm healed. You won't have to put up with me for much longer" The amnesiac replied in a monotone voice.

"You could stay here you know, it's safer than being out on your own" Astrid said, glancing at Axel.

"No, I'm obviously not wanted here" Axel replied, pushing away his half eaten food and standing up.

"You're damn right you're not wanted here, you're an outsider" Bill said in an icy tone.

"You were an outsider once too Bill" The oriental girl on the far side of the table spoke in a soft voice.

"That's beside the point!" Bill shouted, gaining the attention of the others in the room.

"Then what is your point Bill? He's a living being, same as us, and he hasn't done any harm" Astrid spat back.

"My point is that we know nothing of him! For all we know he could be a spy and relaying our position to his higher ups, he's a threat Astrid!" Bill yelled, now standing up.

"He's right. None of you know anything about me. I don't understand how you can be so trusting" Axel said, eyes on Astrid.

"You haven't given me a reason not to trust you" She replied.

"And yet I have given you no reason to trust me" Axel replied immediately.

"Then give us a reason to, explain yourself" Bill said "Are you human or a mutant?" He demanded rather then asked.

"I don't know" Axel said simply.

"What do you mean you don't know? Do you have a power or not? It's not rocket science!" Bill yelled, becoming frustrated with the teen.

"I mean just that, I don't know" Axel repeated himself, from out of nowhere a fiery anger began to build up in the pit of his stomach.

"There's a perfectly good reason not to trust him! He won't even tell us what he is, I say that gives proof he is a human!" Bill yelled.

"You don't have to trust me, I never asked for your help! You could have left me there die, I would have had no complaints!" Axel shouted, not really realizing what he was saying "It was your choice to save me, don't act like it was mine" He paused, his anger spiking for no real reason "If I could tell you anything about myself I would, but that's just it! I can't!" He yelled, small sparks of electricity began to dance around his arms.

"…Axel?" Astrid said, noticing the electricity.

"I don't know what I am; I don't know why I was shot, hell I don't even know who I am!" He yelled, the electricity around his arms gaining volume with every word he spoke.

"Axel calm down!" Astrid yelled but her words went un noticed.

"You want me leave? Fine, I'll leave!" He shouted, turning around and heading out of the room.

"See what you did?" Astrid said, standing up and glaring at Bill for a moment before chasing after Axel.

"Axel wait!" She called after him but the blonde didn't stop "You can't leave!" She shouted "Not with wounds like that"

When the blonde didn't respond she began to speak again "Please, Axel don't do this!"

Axel stopped in his tracks and without turning around he asked, "Why, why do you want me to stay so bad?"

"You're injured Axel, you can't make it on your own out there, not in your condition" She paused "Please, just stay, at least until your healed"

Axel once again didn't respond and opened the door to the room he woke up in, the room where his belongings dwelled.

"Look" Astrid sighed, "I know Bill's a bit of an asshole but he's only looking out for the group. I'm sure, with time he'll warm up to you. Please just, give us a chance…we need more muscle around here" She said blocking the door when Axel turned around, bag gripped firmly in hand.

The two starred at each other silently for a moment before Axel sighed heavily in defeat.

"Fine, I'll stay" He said, Astrid's face lighting up with hope "Just until I'm healed, once I'm healed I'm gone, got it?" He said in a hard tone, dropping his bag to the floor by the bed and taking a seat.

"Alright, alright fine, but if you decide you want to stay permanently, you're welcome here" Astrid finished with a smile.

* * *

Zachary grunted as he stretched, the crumbled building that had been his nest for the night had not been very comfortable. Not nearly enough blankets to keep the rocks from poking into his side. With a sigh he dug around in his pack for two items. Some stale jerky for breakfast and an old apple core wrapped in scrap plastic. He chewed on the tough jerky as he set the apple core down. Holding his hand up he transformed the rotting apple into a rather smalled bird. He yawned as it flew off with little instruction from him. He would use the bird to scope out the area and be sure he wasn't about to walk into any sort of trap.

A woman with jet black hair and ruby red lips adorned in black clothing watched the boy from a large window. She tilted her head to the side and watched with curious eyes behind dark sunglasses as the boy transformed the apple core into a bird. Her painted lips curled into a wicked smile as she pushed away from the window and headed into the next room.

"I'm heading out" She said simply, alerting the other woman in the room, before quickly heading out the door.

Zachary stood from his spot, pacing forward a bit and running a hand through his dark brown hair. He frowned at the strands making a note that he should find a place to clean up and cut it shorter. He closed his eyes for a moment, scrubbing his face in an effort to wake himself. The roof that had become the floor of this building was far too uncomfortable. He doubted he'd be very awake for the rest of the day.

"Bed of leaves that is not."he muttered to himself. He blinked and looked skyward when he felt a twinge from his creation, like someone had plucked a string in his mind. Someone, a woman it seemed, was coming. With a sigh he went to grab his pack, hoping to make a quick escape before he was confronted for being on someone's turf.

Pandora walked with a quick gate and a long stride as she made her way down the road in her current disguise; the one she so often chose instead of her own skin. She was tall, curvy in all the right places with a beautifully shaped face and long flowing silky hair. It pleased Pandora to wear the skin of someone so different then herself, and she found it amusing how easily she could wheedle people into doing what she wanted while in this disguise. She kept her head held high and her eye on the boy as she walked, never letting him out of sight.

He swallowed when he caught sight of her. She really was beautiful and made all those boyish fantasies push to the forefront of his mind. But at the same time he knew that beauty was an awful go disguise for those who were truely ugly underneth. He wasn't about to let animal instinct cause his fall. So instead he quickly moved out of the building keeping distance from her, his intentions clear. He wasn't going to stick around, if this was her turf she could have it.

"A chase it is then" Pandora said under her breath, with a slightly amuzed tone as she followed after the dark haired teen.

Zach glanced back at her and frowned, picking up the pace, hoping she would eventually loose interest. But time passed and after a couple of blocks he finally had to stop and ask.

"Why the hell are you following me?"he asked, body tense and ready to put up a fight if need be.

"You have something I want" Pandora replied in a low monotone voice, eyeing the boy behind her sunglasses.

He shifted uncomfortably, his frown becoming a glare. "And what exactly would that be?"he asked, wishing he could see her eyes so he could judge her emotions.

"Ah, now that is a good question. It could be anything from a simple chat to all of your pocessions and your life" She said, amuzment clear in her voice as she watched the boy squirm under her gaze. He took a cautious step backwards, his heart thundering against his ribs but he was glad he was able to keep some calm control on the outside. This was dangerous, he didn't know who or what this woman was. She could be working for the government for all he knew.

hmm let me change that, it sounds awkward "Ah, now that is a good question. It could be anything from dirty old jacket you are wearing, to your very life"

"aw, no reaction? How boring" Pandora said, her smile fading and a serious look over coming her face "I was only kidding, not need to be so tense".

"Being tense has saved my life plenty of times over miss. Rather keep my head if you know what I mean. Now if you don't mind, tell me what you want or I walk away."he said.

"You're cautious, good. This world is full of bad people, you never know who you're going to run into. A seemingly sweet, attractive young woman could turn out to be a deadly snake" Pandora said, amuzement returning to her voice.

"On a serious note, I have a proposition for you" She stated.

"Oh really. A proposition. And what exactly are you proposing?" he asked, curious, eager even. He wasn't about to join some gang but food, shelter, things like that, for even just a few nights would be invaluable. Still he erred on the side of caution, he wouldn't be convinced by words alone.

"Would you be my Delta" Pandora asked simply.

He frowned and gave her an incredulous look. He was unsure how exactly to react, tension leaving him in favor of pure confusion. "Your...Delta?"he asked, scratching the back of his head.

"That's not some weird sex thing is it? I mean I'm flattered but we don't know eachother that well" he spouted without really thinking.

"Oh, naieve child" Pandora laughed under her breath.

"Alpha, Brave, Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Gamma. Don't tell me, you don't know your military abcs?" She said, her tone switching from light hearted to serious without missing a beat.

Zachary frowned at her and answered with a shrug, "Can't know everything. You are talking to a man who's mostly self taught. So, you going to tell me what's this delta stuff about or what?"

Pandora sighed "Can't have all the good traits, at least he has survival instincts" She said under her breath.

"You see, you and I" She paused "We have something in common" She said, shifting back into her own form. She shrunk in size considerably,and the hair that shaped her face so perfectly was now gone and in it's place was a bald head with the acception of one black and blonde strand of hair which curled about her forehead. The woman was slender with little to no shape and now stood at about 5 feet. She wasn't necessarily ugly; her face was beautifully shaped, with a large forehead, arched eyesbrows, bow shaped lips and those large almond shaped eyes hiding behind those sunglasses.

Zachary corked a brow in interest as the woman changed shape before him. She was now a good deal shorter than him, by about 7 or so inches, and that weird hair style reminded him of cartoons he used to watch as a kid.

"Well that's...interesting. So another mutant...I'm guessing this delta thing has to do with some group you formed" he said mulling this new information over.

"I see and what make your group so special? And why exactly would you need me?" he asked curiously though not entirely into the idea.

"My "group" goes by the name of Medusa, and I am the leader, you may call me Pandora" She said.

"Mmm, that rings a bell."he said putting his hand on his chin in a classic thinking pose. He looked up where the little bird he created circled over head, it certainly didn't have the answers.

"You may have heard of me, after all I did infiltrate the white house and personally threaten the vice president. But that was years ago, I can't expect you to remember, after all, you would have been, what? 14, 15 at the time? And what kid that age pays attention to the news?" She paused.

"Anyway, since then I have created a resistance group called Medusa and our number one target is the government. I need strong mutants with certain skills in my team to form an unstopable force" She paused once again, then continued "So, what do you say?"

"True 'nough, had other things on my mind than the news at that age" Zachary said, holding his hand open as the little bird swooped down and landed in his palm.

"As for joining your uh, heh, unstopable force. I'd have to say no. I've got other obligations to attend to. Now if you were to suggest making a deal to do fair and equal trading when I pass by here, if I pass by here again, well then I'd might just take you up on that offer miss" he said with a smirked as he ran his fingers over the soft feathered chickadee in his hand.

"Awe, pitty, and I really didn't want to kill you" Pandora said, shifting back into the tall woman from before, her ruby red lips pouting in dissapointment.

"I'd like to see you try miss."he stated calmly. He was sure he could protect himself, but you never knew with mutants. Shape shifting into beautiful women might not be her only power.

"No, no I don't think you would. Honestly, do you think you could take me on? How do you think I made it this far hmm? There is always more then what meets the eye child, never underestime your oponent. You don't know who your dealing with" Pandora stated simply in a monotone.

"Oh I'm not miss. But you don't know me either. We're both in the dark about eachother. Now if you don't want my offer that's fine by me. Much rather walk away without a fight. Afterall, killing eachother will only aide the government" he suggested, taking a step back. His fingers twitched, feeling for material to work with. There was plenty of it, all around them, enough at least to protect him.

"I don't think you understand. I'm working underground here, and no one is to know about Medusa. You know too much, besides, you've seen my true form, can't have that now can I?" She said, fingiring her sunglasses.

"I don't play around, boy. Do you think I'd target you without knowing your power? There is a reason why I went to you after all" Pandora paused for a moment.

"Right now you're analyzing your position and from the looks of your stance, you're unsure of yourself. You've made your choice, and so you shall die. Now, either you can struggle and attempt to fight back, or you can go quietly. Don't think for a moment I'd recruit someone I couldn't handle" She finished, all hint of amuzment from her voice lost.

Zachary swallowed thickly, tensing again as he readied himself to bolt.

"Now miss, maybe there's still a chance for agreement. I never got to tell you what I was trading" he said, hoping that info would be enough to let him slip by.

"Talk, and talk quickly" She demanded, not wanting to draw this out any further.

"Information. I track police and military movements via my little friend here,"he held up the little bird still sitting in his palm, "note it down and hand it over to you for a reasonable fee. Some food and a place to sleep, that's all I usually ask."

"That little friend of yours may as well have saved your life" Pandora said, turning around.

"Walk with, talk with me. I'll show you where you'll be staying the night, in return I want all the info you have of the military" She said, glancing back at the dark haired teen.

He let out a relieved sigh and cut his connection to the bird, in an instant it turned to dust. He followed after the woman, shifting his pack so he could reach inside and grab his journal.

"I keep everything in here, copy it in triplicate in case folks like you need the info."he said opening the journal and tearing out several sheets before handing them over to her. What was written there was neat and efficient, time stamps of movements and groupings, tactics used that had been successful, all sorts of information. Despite saying he was self taught it was obvious he was at the very least intelligent.

* * *

The sound of a car horn alerted the boy that his fate was soon to be sealed and he would once again be with his brother. Cold wind brushed up against his cheeks as the speeding cars whipped by him. The screech of tire against road pierced the nights air as a car fought against the slick road to come to a stop, but it couldn't get a good enough grip and kept sliding forward toward the boy at a fatal speed. Bright light burned upon the boy's dead eyes, illuminating the fear etched into his face.

A loud rhythmic thunder pounded in the boy's chest, reverberating throughout his body and leaving its deafening ring in his ears. The boy held his breath as the car inched forward, and he awaited the impact that was soon to come, but it never did. Dumbfounded the boy let out the breath he had been holding and tried to focus on where the car would be.

Rain pelted the hood of the cars around the boy, giving him a near perfect image of what was going on around him. Cars were facing this way and that all around him, in a giant mass of metal. Then it caught his attention, a tall slightly hunched over figure stood before him, between him and the should have been bringer of his death.

"Crazy ass kid! What do you think you're doing!" An angry voice came from the figure before the boy.

Silence.

"Why?" A muttered breathy whisper formed on the lips of the boy.

"Why what? Why save your sorry ass? Great question, now answer mine. What the hell were you thinking?" The gruff voice from before came again but this time it was closer.

"You! you took it from me" The boy stuttered angrily.

"Excuse you?" The sandy haired man asked before walking closer to the boy who stood, clutching his left hand to his right wrist.

"I could have been reunited with him, now that chance is gone. You're at fault" The boy said in a monotone voice and continued to mumble to himself.

"Look kid, I didn't have to save your stupid ass alright? I just happened to be headed in this direction and I'm in a hurry, I'm not about to let some stupid ass suicidal punk make me late got it?"

"You shouldn't have done it. It'll only bring more pain... more death" The boy slurred, stepping backward away from the man.

"Alright here's the deal; you are suicidal, mental and obviously really drunk. I'm not about to leave you in the middle of the street so my good deed can go to shit and you can succeed in killing yourself. I'm also not about to be late, you're coming with me, I'll get you sobered up and once you're in your right mind you can leave got it?" The man said, grabbing a hold of the boy.

"Let me go" The boy demanded, he could feel the anger boiling in the pit of his stomach when the man didn't let go.

"I said let me go!" The boy shouted, using his free arm to send a large sound wave at the man. The man was knocked backward, landing on his ass and when he got back on his feet the boy was nowhere in sight.

"Damn punk!" He yelled under his breath, leaving the crash site and heading toward his destination, grumbling all the while.

This man wasn't one for heroic acts and he wasn't quite sure why he stopped the kid, he should have just let him kill himself….perhaps it was instinct…a prospect of the man he once was before? What happened him?

The sandy haired man with a goatee wearing dark blue jeans, brown cowboy boots with the spurs to match, a white tee and a trucker cap which was of course worn backward.

* * *

So sorry for the VERY VERY late update! No I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I live! ahah well there it is, the next chapter shouldn't take nearly as long to finish since I have a pretty good plan for the chapters ahead.


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